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The girls of Old Marredpally

Feel the flavour of the fav part of the city as it evolved

THE FIRST DATE IN 1955 Shefa, Suguna and Juni

Now, it is called Marredpally but long time residents know it as the soul of Secunderabad. To see what life was before the flyovers, the malls and apartments came up, you have to walk and see through the eyes of the old girls of Marredpally. See the picture? These beautiful, grey haired and dignified women sitting all around had been children together -- little girls with pigtails, walking to school, fighting with each other and then making up. They were all talking about the high spots of their lives, taking digs at each other and laughing over past mistakes, when they had been happy just being children.

On the verge of growing up, delighting in the forbidden pleasures of seeing an English movie, putting their hair up, wearing lipstick, the first date (yes, in 1955!). And there were those little confessions too - Shubu telling Indu that she used to wait for her in school so that she could swipe the cold juice that her ayah brought along for the little princess! Keyes High School and St Ann's School were the two schools for girls. Suguna, Juni, Shefa, Daphne, Jasbir, Sudha and Meena were in the same class in St Ann's and they passed out together.

So when they turned 16 , Juni's mother decided that her daughter and two of her close friends, Shefa and Suguna, would attend their first ball at Percy's. So they wore saris, high heels and tied their hair in a bun with jasmine flowers for good effect. A photograph of the occasion was taken. Fifty years later, the three women took a picture once again - this time in colourand two of them had cropped their hair while the third had covered her head!

Getting hitched

Passing the school leaving exam meant that the girls were ready to get married and in those days, almost all of them did marry before they were 20. Suguna was allowed to go out with her fiancé, Vijay, who was at that time considered the most eligible bachelor. Indu, Santosh and Juni romanced their future husbands for a few more years before they tied the knot.

Fun trip

Not all the girls were married young though. Swaran was 28 when she married her old flame from Lahore and went on to settle in Delhi.

THE ORDER CHANGED IN '05 Suguna, Shefa and Juni

Shubu says that although her brothers brought in their friends, her mother would be sitting hawk-eyed watching over them, especially if both the sisters were at home. Indu used to play badminton with her brothers and their friends in the New Club. They would go in a big gang to see an English movie at the nearby Plaza or Tivoli cinemas. The Municipal park was where they played their indigenous games which gave them loads of physical exercise, while debating, theatre and other mental stimulation was provided by the schools.

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